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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Final agonizante, esa descarga de información enciclopédica interminable sobraba. El negro océano es un bebé y los humanos son sus juguetes, pues muy bien. Decepcionante y cansado.
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I watched the movie first and I’m glad I did because the movie is incredibly disappointing in comparison to the content of the book.
Where the movie was a drama romance, the book is more of a horror. The ocean is fascinating. Kelvin has much more life and much more paranoia. The book contains an oppressive atmosphere throughout … and I much prefer the books ending.
I could not watch the movie again after reading the book, it would aggravate me to know all the depth and world building that is missing.
Where the movie was a drama romance, the book is more of a horror. The ocean is fascinating. Kelvin has much more life and much more paranoia. The book contains an oppressive atmosphere throughout … and I much prefer the books ending.
I could not watch the movie again after reading the book, it would aggravate me to know all the depth and world building that is missing.
I thought the translation by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox read very well, so don't be turned off by Lem's distaste for it. The bits that focused on the history of man's attempts to understand Solaris were interesting, though the prose was a little dry. Other than that, it was full of beautiful descriptions of the shifting alien ocean.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting themes. Extremely dense prose.
I, while in a state of idle musing as well as amused, have developed a philosophical theory, or a story, extrapolated from reading the science-fiction novel 'Solaris': why a god of the universe disappears after our 'creation' (I am an atheist, just saying).
What I mean is, if a being, perhaps an amoeba-like space monster, which is able to manipulate particles of matter as if it were playing with Legos and it was simply floating around aimlessly without purpose or thought, if it found objects made of certain molecules, like a child picking up kelp at the beach and not knowing if the kelp was alive or if it was a plant or a creature, it developed a mild curiosity. The amoeba plays with the object's particles in different ways, mindlessly or maybe indifferently, and makes, say a human Kelvin/Adam. It mixes in various particles like sand or dirt or atoms or neutrinos, which it can play with as easily as messing around with grains of sugar, idly rearranged them in a kind of order. Next, it creates a Harey/Eve from the thoughts of the Kelvin/Adam by the means of reproducing amino acids and proteins from Kelvin/Adam but slightly different. Then, amoeba watches the creature do stuff, not understanding because its nature was completely different. The amoeba's curiously observes these toys react and move, but since the being has no means to judge what or why it moves, it watches idly for awhile, like watching a dust mote in a sun-ray, then it drops the whole thing, moving on to more interesting stuff.
: )
Kris Kelvin, psychiatrist and scientist, boards Solaris Station for an extended visit. He can tell something is wrong immediately because the station is dirty and no one meets him. He knows there are currently three scientists on board. Why are they avoiding him?
At one time the station was constantly full of human scientists studying the mysterious multi-colored, jelly-like, seething, hardening then liquifying, flowing ocean on the surface of the discovered planet they called Solaris. Solaris also has two suns and magnetic/gravity anomalies, but after 40 years of measurements, watching the ocean and closely examining it, all that could be determined was that the huge ocean on Solaris was an entity of some kind. It seemed to occasionally form stiffened structures in opposition to its main self, and operate in mathematical functions, but no determination of purpose or even life could be made (like a virus - my thought).
The ocean wouldn't let any instrument or scientist touch it, shrinking away and forming a glove-like imitative outline of the instrument or suited hand, surrounding anything which reached out into it without allowing entry. The men thrust equipment at it, pointed instruments at it, made videos, flew ships through its temporarily hardened structures which were spewed upward and out of it in psuedo-buildings which stretched out as tall as mountains out to the horizon. What the heck is it? Why these motions? Could it 'communicate'? Why 'buildings' or 'gardens' shapes (which it couldn't possibly 'know'). Eventually, everyone got tired of not having any answers despite tests and measurements and went away, disturbed and frustrated but moving on, with the exception of a few.
Kelvin comes to the station to follow up with his mentor, Gibarian, who is still exploring aspects of the ocean. Instead, he finds Snaut, who is seemingly drunk and terrified by the sight of Kelvin. After a long peculiar conversation, Kelvin is told Gibarian committed suicide. If that wasn't weird enough, Snaut hints that ghosts might be about. Sartorius, the other station resident, refuses to leave his room.
What is happening here?
I think this book is amazingly good. The writing style is thick with an obvious foreign sensibility regarding social conversation and female bodies (the author was a Polish Jew born in 1921) and there are many philosophical ideas imbedded in the underlying story about communication and understanding reality constructs outside of our individual selves.
Actually, 'Solaris' on the surface (hehehehe) appears to present certain questions:
-can humanity truly understand something inhuman in every way?
-is all reasoning a mirror of ourselves?
-why do academic papers include so much pure posturing that they are easy to satirize?
The scientific academic research papers by all of those educated men studying Solaris and the ocean also ultimately show how little all of that learning, educated guesses, newly created fields of study and new descriptive words actually reveal or teach or push forward science. Most of all, these, on-the-surface, cold, prideful educated men are reduced to their primitive caveman instincts; to fear, sex and survival strategies, despite their supposedly higher-level intellectualism.
Communism, with which Lem might have been most familiar, but actually all political systems, in action are very inferior to the imagined intellectual philosophy, as is science and love, for that matter. I think Lem was a bitter bitter man. His book plays with many people's surface faiths, while at the same time he is subversively saying something else.
'Solaris' is not a love story in my opinion as so many others may think, but actually about how we perceive reality; with sidebars sneering at academic writing, rigid scientific methodology and the weaknesses of men, i.e., sex, competitiveness, fear, pride, tunnel-vision.
As usual with serious eastern-European authors of a certain age (mid-20th century), women are love/sex/gross objects/caricatures which torment these guys because of our body parts and emanations ( - BTW, WTF!?! - see [b:The Unbearable Lightness of Being|9717|The Unbearable Lightness of Being|Milan Kundera|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1265401884l/9717._SY75_.jpg|4489585]. Plus conversations between educated men (there are no educated women, only females who are artistic or cloyingly clinging) tend to be circuitous (as in, "I'll explain if you go first." "No, you." "You." "You." Or they act as if friendly polite chatter, even innocuous (like, "Hi! Didn't know you coming! Can I show you around, take your luggage, get you something to drink?") or any feelings beyond hard stares and tightened lips will be a humiliation and a loss of face which cannot be tolerated. (I DO understand these gentlemen are afraid also) So despite internal anxious shamed dialogue, shared with us, gentle reader, by the author, the protagonists tend to avoid each other's eyes a lot while speaking in stern demanding tones. I don't mind, a lot, maybe a little, sigh. You know men...
However, the egregious flaws about how women are portrayed in these classic serious eastern European books, which so often has me grinding my teeth, has resulted in the occasional condescending comment by others to me, restated politely, that my being irked shows me to be a gauche uneducated literary reader who doesn't understand early Great Literature should overwhelm my feminist sensitivities with swooning worship. Give. Me. A. Break. I can't help noticing the babyish sex-kitten women (and other male stereotypes about women), and it is a definite sour note for me.
*ahem*
However. I understand it was how it was. This is a GREAT book. I loved this novel and I recommend it.
What I mean is, if a being, perhaps an amoeba-like space monster, which is able to manipulate particles of matter as if it were playing with Legos and it was simply floating around aimlessly without purpose or thought, if it found objects made of certain molecules, like a child picking up kelp at the beach and not knowing if the kelp was alive or if it was a plant or a creature, it developed a mild curiosity. The amoeba plays with the object's particles in different ways, mindlessly or maybe indifferently, and makes, say a human Kelvin/Adam. It mixes in various particles like sand or dirt or atoms or neutrinos, which it can play with as easily as messing around with grains of sugar, idly rearranged them in a kind of order. Next, it creates a Harey/Eve from the thoughts of the Kelvin/Adam by the means of reproducing amino acids and proteins from Kelvin/Adam but slightly different. Then, amoeba watches the creature do stuff, not understanding because its nature was completely different. The amoeba's curiously observes these toys react and move, but since the being has no means to judge what or why it moves, it watches idly for awhile, like watching a dust mote in a sun-ray, then it drops the whole thing, moving on to more interesting stuff.
: )
Kris Kelvin, psychiatrist and scientist, boards Solaris Station for an extended visit. He can tell something is wrong immediately because the station is dirty and no one meets him. He knows there are currently three scientists on board. Why are they avoiding him?
At one time the station was constantly full of human scientists studying the mysterious multi-colored, jelly-like, seething, hardening then liquifying, flowing ocean on the surface of the discovered planet they called Solaris. Solaris also has two suns and magnetic/gravity anomalies, but after 40 years of measurements, watching the ocean and closely examining it, all that could be determined was that the huge ocean on Solaris was an entity of some kind. It seemed to occasionally form stiffened structures in opposition to its main self, and operate in mathematical functions, but no determination of purpose or even life could be made (like a virus - my thought).
The ocean wouldn't let any instrument or scientist touch it, shrinking away and forming a glove-like imitative outline of the instrument or suited hand, surrounding anything which reached out into it without allowing entry. The men thrust equipment at it, pointed instruments at it, made videos, flew ships through its temporarily hardened structures which were spewed upward and out of it in psuedo-buildings which stretched out as tall as mountains out to the horizon. What the heck is it? Why these motions? Could it 'communicate'? Why 'buildings' or 'gardens' shapes (which it couldn't possibly 'know'). Eventually, everyone got tired of not having any answers despite tests and measurements and went away, disturbed and frustrated but moving on, with the exception of a few.
Kelvin comes to the station to follow up with his mentor, Gibarian, who is still exploring aspects of the ocean. Instead, he finds Snaut, who is seemingly drunk and terrified by the sight of Kelvin. After a long peculiar conversation, Kelvin is told Gibarian committed suicide. If that wasn't weird enough, Snaut hints that ghosts might be about. Sartorius, the other station resident, refuses to leave his room.
What is happening here?
Spoiler
Relationships in the novel happen between simulacrums grown by the alien and the real humans, imho. The 'love story' (isn't THAT multidimensional) which develops between characters in the book happens because the 'amoeba' induces emotion in the humans by the making of romanticized simulacrums. Loving the simulacrum is like loving an often examined photograph of a loved one from 30 years ago, which may have been taken at a beautiful and romantic vacation spot also long ago. But alas, the romance of it all somehow disappointed or disappeared in real life. The beloved became old and changed, and you divorced, but the dream girl lives on in memory - the amoeba's source for its creations. Yet despite the fact 'Harey' is a hologram, most readers respond to these sections as if 'she' exists as the complete real 3D individual, instead of the fake 2D person she 'is'.I think this book is amazingly good. The writing style is thick with an obvious foreign sensibility regarding social conversation and female bodies (the author was a Polish Jew born in 1921) and there are many philosophical ideas imbedded in the underlying story about communication and understanding reality constructs outside of our individual selves.
Actually, 'Solaris' on the surface (hehehehe) appears to present certain questions:
-can humanity truly understand something inhuman in every way?
-is all reasoning a mirror of ourselves?
-why do academic papers include so much pure posturing that they are easy to satirize?
The scientific academic research papers by all of those educated men studying Solaris and the ocean also ultimately show how little all of that learning, educated guesses, newly created fields of study and new descriptive words actually reveal or teach or push forward science. Most of all, these, on-the-surface, cold, prideful educated men are reduced to their primitive caveman instincts; to fear, sex and survival strategies, despite their supposedly higher-level intellectualism.
Communism, with which Lem might have been most familiar, but actually all political systems, in action are very inferior to the imagined intellectual philosophy, as is science and love, for that matter. I think Lem was a bitter bitter man. His book plays with many people's surface faiths, while at the same time he is subversively saying something else.
'Solaris' is not a love story in my opinion as so many others may think, but actually about how we perceive reality; with sidebars sneering at academic writing, rigid scientific methodology and the weaknesses of men, i.e., sex, competitiveness, fear, pride, tunnel-vision.
As usual with serious eastern-European authors of a certain age (mid-20th century), women are love/sex/gross objects/caricatures which torment these guys because of our body parts and emanations ( - BTW, WTF!?! - see [b:The Unbearable Lightness of Being|9717|The Unbearable Lightness of Being|Milan Kundera|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1265401884l/9717._SY75_.jpg|4489585]. Plus conversations between educated men (there are no educated women, only females who are artistic or cloyingly clinging) tend to be circuitous (as in, "I'll explain if you go first." "No, you." "You." "You." Or they act as if friendly polite chatter, even innocuous (like, "Hi! Didn't know you coming! Can I show you around, take your luggage, get you something to drink?") or any feelings beyond hard stares and tightened lips will be a humiliation and a loss of face which cannot be tolerated. (I DO understand these gentlemen are afraid also
Spoiler
that they are talking to an alien or that they have gone insane.However, the egregious flaws about how women are portrayed in these classic serious eastern European books, which so often has me grinding my teeth, has resulted in the occasional condescending comment by others to me, restated politely, that my being irked shows me to be a gauche uneducated literary reader who doesn't understand early Great Literature should overwhelm my feminist sensitivities with swooning worship. Give. Me. A. Break. I can't help noticing the babyish sex-kitten women (and other male stereotypes about women), and it is a definite sour note for me.
*ahem*
However. I understand it was how it was. This is a GREAT book. I loved this novel and I recommend it.